If you ever wondered how Phillies owner John S. Middleton made his $2.9 billion...

Most of the group that owns the Philadelphia Phillies has chosen to keep a low profile over the years but that appears to be changing. At least for John S. Middleton who has been stepping into the public eye more frequently in the name of philanthropy.

Middleton and his wife Leigh will accept the Philadelphia Award at the Art Museum this afternoon, an award which the Main Lines Media News describes as "one of the city’s most prestigious honors that is presented annually to area residents who act and serve in the best interests of the community."

The Middletons are written about in the Philadelphia Inquirer this morning which attempts to explain their willingness to step out of the shadows a bit because being more visible to the public can help further the charity work their donations have started. The couple has given an impressive $30 million to Project HOME which helps fight homelessness, $16.2 to the Philly School District, and $16.3 to Penn Medicine focusing specifically on neuroscience.

Having enough money to give it away in serious chunks came relatively recently for the couple. In 2007, Middleton sold privately held cigar maker John Middleton Inc. - started by his family as a Philadelphia tobacco shop in 1856 and at the time the world's third-largest cigar maker - for $2.9 billion to Altria Group, parent of Philip Morris USA. He was 52.